40 Great Ideas for Decks

Find inspiration for turning a deck into your favorite “room” in the house

Find inspiration for turning a deck into your favorite “room” in the house

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Sunset

1 of 40Jennifer Cheung

Staycation

Bring out the striped cushions and colorful umbrellas, and get transported to a dream vacation spot right in your backyard. The deck is made of sustainable ipe wood that has weathered to a soft gray. Drought-tolerant plants need only yearly trimming and occasional watering—which leaves plenty of time to kick back on a lounge chair and bask in the sun.

2 of 40Thomas J. Story

Wraparound room

A deck wraps around most of this updated ranch house, almost doubling its square footage. This side of the home—technically the front yard—is shaded by the line of cottonwood trees that acts as a windbelt.

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3 of 40Thomas J. Story

Evening chill

This backyard is optimized for relaxation. A rock wall fringed with Berkeley sedge separates a lower paved patio from a raised redwood deck and hot tub. The level change makes the small backyard appear larger. Columnar Hollywood junipers (Juniperus torulosa) cluster to the left of the deck, while a hedge of pineapple guavas (Feijoa sellowiana) grows against the back fence (made of cedar but stained to look like redwood). At night, strings of bistro lights emit a soft glow, like starlight, above the hot tub.

4 of 40John Ellis

Invite in light

The 20- by 80-foot yellow cedar deck serves as an adjunct living space for this summer home on Washington's Mystery Bay. It’s protected from the rain by a roof of corrugated polycarbonate, a plastic material that allows ample light to filter inside. Tomato red chairs surround a simple folding office table, transformed by painting the top of it bright turquoise blue.

5 of 40Thomas J. Story

Rooftop perch

A rooftop deck over the garage gives the second floor of this Denver home added outdoor space. The composite wood decking was laid on top of the sealed roof, providing the flat surface with extra protection from sun and moisture—a bonus, given Denver's wide-ranging seasons. Overstuffed furniture is upholstered in Sunbrella indoor-outdoor fabric to prevent fading.

Party on the deck

A good deck can capture a view, create a comfortable outdoor room, and add a feeling of spaciousness to your home by blurring the boundaries between inside and out.

This partly sheltered deck serves as an indoor-outdoor space connecting a family room with a patio. Classically simple, it is a great transitional element for nearly any style of house. You can even build it yourself!

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Subtle attraction

Gray is the perfect color for adding subtle detail, like this painted deck. Imagine it with a color—fun, but with an entirely different feel. Soft gray plays against the pink for a restful, feminine vibe.

8 of 40Eric Millette

Taming a slope

A deck at the top of this sloping backyard transformed the space into an inviting destination for taking in the view.

The rear edge of the 15- by 24-foot deck notches into the hill. A low retaining wall holds the uphill section in place and doubles as another bench seat.

Live outdoors

With interior space at a premium, these homeowners make the most of their backyard that effectively doubles their living space. With the big kitchen window and glass door (which is typically left open on nice days), they consider it an extension of their great room. During the summer, they do a lot of al fresco dining, hosting friends for barbeques, and lots of time playing with their child and dog. In addition to the expansive deck, there's a grassy play area surrounded by northwest-friendly plants, and a veggie garden planted in the strip of their "old California driveway."

10 of 40Thomas J. Story

Small space, big potential

This home's addition made room for a rooftop garden just off the master bedroom’s deck where the family grows herbs, strawberries, and a mini succulent garden, showing a lot can be packed into a small outdoor space.

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11 of 40Thomas J. Story

On the water

At this stunning lakeside home, a barely visible frameless glass rail makes deck dwellers feel as though they’re perched on the prow of a ship. The home designer outfitted the space with a sofa, fire table, and rockers. “The fireplace has a wide lip that doubles as a table for drinks and small plates,” she says. Floor-level speakers cast music toward the house instead of toward neighbors.

12 of 40Thomas J. Story

Colorful character

This ipe wood deck is flush with the black slate floor extended from inside the home. The dark flooring creates the perfect backdrop for contrasting pops of bright orange.

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13 of 40Thomas J. Story

Poised for the view

This tiny deck off the side of this modern cabin home proves that you don't need a lot of space to make a big statement. The deck is big enough for chairs and even a small table, making it the perfect spot for morning coffee or an afternoon read—or simply a perch for blissfully taking in the amazing wooded surroundings.

14 of 40Thomas J. Story

Treat the outside like the inside

With the doors to the deck open and folded back against the exterior walls, it feels like the living room and deck are one. The homeowner chose outdoor furniture that completely meshes with what’s inside.

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15 of 40Thomas J. Story

Cozy gathering space

This mid-century home's deck was built from plans in Sunset’s How to Build Decks for Outdoor Living, published in 1972. Large sliding doors open from the kitchen onto the space featuring a chic outdoor cone fireplace, where guests tend to migrate after dinner.

16 of 40Thomas J. Story

Lucky leftovers

This deck was constructed from bits and pieces left behind by the house’s previous owners. Before building anything structural out of found materials, have a contractor or carpenter check the materials for damage.

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17 of 40Photo by Art Gray

Front-yard entry deck

Instead of stairs, a three-level deck steps up to the front door of this raised post-and-pier-house on the island of Oahu.

Tropical accessories on the deck and throughout the garden turned this entry into a personal paradise.

Fire pit focal point

This deck more than doubles the home's living space with ample sunbathing, conversation, and entertaining areas.

Expanding an existing deck made of Trex, a composite material, architect Peter Pfau carved out an area for a new entry pavilion and another for a fire pit. A matching boardwalk connects the main house to two tented guest rooms.

Small-budget deck

This 9- by 25-foot deck covered with multicolored slate tiles provides the perfect place for quiet and relaxation. Handsome stone pavers ― a product called Stone Deck ― make it feel like a terrace on the ground. These tiles rest on the same kind of framework a wooden deck does. The broad wooden steps are made of ipe, a rich, red-colored Brazilian hardwood.

Dinner on the deck

Bob and Cary Woll's seaside-inspired backyard in Los Osos, California, is as inviting for two as it is for a crowd; the Wolls have entertained as many as two dozen guests, comfortably, on the deck.

Benches of ipe wood wrap around most of the deck (also made of ipe), providing generous seating.

Garden plants ― Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Silver Sheen', and Acacia cognata ― require little in the way of watering and upkeep. A tiny succulent in a square pot serves as a simple table centerpiece.

28 of 40Thomas J. Story

Create an outdoor bar

Outdoor chefs need a place to put their tools, and bartenders must have a bar. The concrete side table beneath the pergola provides room for both while also functioning as a serving counter or buffet table.

Two square cabinets on casters, tucked underneath provide storage. They can also be rolled into action as serving tables or additional seating.

Small space update

Creating a colorful outdoor living room from an unruly yard can seem intimidating. But by breaking down the process into a series of manageable tasks, busy parents Trina and Mark Whiteley were able to refresh their small Palo Alto, CA deck.

Outdoor lounge

Built of Mangaris ― a dark, eco-friendly hardwood also known as red balau ― a new deck spans the living room, kitchen, and master bedroom of this Hollywood Hills home, expanding the usable outdoor space from 120 square feet to almost 900.

Triple and quadruple sliding glass doors on two sides of the living room bring in the view and create an easy transition between indoors and out.

38 of 40

Shower deck

Measuring 6 feet by 9 feet, this former light well functions as an outdoor shower off a master bedroom in a San Francisco Victorian. A tall outside wall hides it from view; you get to it through French doors.

After owners Alison and David Cameron moved in, they hired a plumber to hook up the shower. The redwood 2-by-6 decking serves as duckboard: water trickles between the boards and falls to a lower area with a drain.

The deck opens to the sky and makes a welcoming, wind-sheltered location for houseplants that periodically come out for a shower of their own. A shelf along one wall provides extra space for smaller plants.

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39 of 40Thomas J. Story

Playroom outdoors

Before this deck went in, this area between the main house and garage was a repository for old appliances and other discards.

Now it's a fun place to relax. The wicker chairs, seashell mobiles, and corrugated tin awnings were inspired by the homeowner's vacation in Costa Rica.